Benitez: Corinthians were better than us

Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez felt Corinthians 'managed' the game very well against his side

Rafael Benitez admitted Chelsea were out-fought and out-thought after watching Corinthians destroy their Club World Cup dream.

Interim Blues manager Benitez insisted his side only had themselves to blame as they crashed to a 1-0 defeat in the final in Yokohama, as Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to fail to win the Club World Cup for six years, a week and a half after their elimination from club football's European showpiece.

The South Americans swarmed all over their opponents from start to finish, and Benitez said: "This is the final of the World Cup for the South American teams. You could see this from the first minute. Our players have some quality but, physically, some of them aren't so strong."

Some of Corinthians' players also tried every trick in the book to get the referee on side, forward Emerson repeatedly rolling around the floor under contact.

Benitez added: "You could see they have experience and, every second, they were around the referee and doing well - and wasting [time] round near the end. I don't say that as a negative. They were 'managing' the game quite well."

Emerson was also at the centre of Gary Cahill's late sending-off, which Benitez admitted might have been justified after his defender lashed out. "He lost his temper," Benitez said. "I didn't see it in the game, but I've seen it on the replay and it could be a red card."

Despite being second best for much of the game, Chelsea created enough chances to snatch a draw. Fernando Torres was the chief culprit, missing a sitter five minutes from time before netting a header from an offside position.

Benitez said: "Try to find the positives in the situation. He was there. He had the chances. He scored the goal that was disallowed. He has to take these chances in a final because it's not easy to create too many. If you have two or three, you have to score."

Delighted Corinthians boss Tite said: "I took a photo with this trophy in 2010. I didn't know if I would ever hold it. Now I have it and I am very happy. Corinthians winning this gives us a very important lesson. A team is more important than individual talents."

Tite hailed the tens of thousands of Corinthians fans who were rewarded for their Japanese pilgrimage, adding: "The supporters are part of us. They play with us. They give us energy. Corinthians play some rough matches and supporters expect us to play tough."